Grand Jury Says Police Shooting of Georgia Man Justified; Victim’s Mother Wants Federal Investigation

Jameillah Smiley

Ricky Boyd, at her home in Savannah, Ga. Police were justified in fatally shooting Ricky Boyd, a 20-year-old man, a grand jury said Wednesday, May 23, 2018. (AP Photo/Russ Bynum, File)

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — A grand jury in Savannah, Georgia, has determined police were justified in fatally shooting a 20-year-old man they had come to arrest in January.

The grand jury report concludes Ricky Boyd pointed a BB pistol at officers, and it appeared to be a real gun. His family insists he was unarmed. Boyd’s mother says she’s seen the body-camera video, and she says it shows her son with his arms raised and no weapon in his hands.

Chatham County District Attorney Meg Heap presented the GBI’s findings to the civil grand jury, which issued its nine-page report Wednesday. The jury decided the evidence did not support pursuing criminal charges against the officers.

The Boyd family’s lawyer has urged federal authorities to investigate Boyd’s shooting as a violation of his civil rights.

Democracy needs journalism it can trust.

This election season, the stakes are higher than usual — and so is the pressure on newsrooms to soften their coverage, stay quiet, or just disappear. Independent reporting, the kind that answers to readers instead of advertisers or political pressure, matters more in a moment like this, not less.

For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed independent and reader-funded. We have no corporate owner and no shareholders telling us what to cover or how to cover it. That independence is also our biggest vulnerability: nothing protects it except readers choosing to fund it directly.

Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under in a moment like this, it's rarely the independent, reader-funded ones that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Back to top